Hello all, I've just joined this awesome forum as I've recently purchased an old bobcat 343 (now s70) for a steal. The owner said I needed to check the right hand drive though. And indeed, when pushing the right hand drive rod forward, nothing happens... Reverse works. It's an old tiny beast with certainly 40-50 years of age. It stood untouched in a barn since 2016, so maybe the oil has become thick and mucky and doesn't pass through the lines? I honestly wouldn't know as I am new to skidsteers, every opinion is welcome, thanks in advance!
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It could be the pump, it could be the motor. An easy way to know is to swap drive motors from side to side, but i think removing drive motors on your machine is not as easy, i think the motor has a sprocket on the nose inside teh chain case, so you need to remove it that way, unlike the newer ones, you just remove a few bolts and hoses and it slides right off.
Never worked on one, but hopefully another member can advise how to get it out easily.
It could be the pump, it could be the motor. An easy way to know is to swap drive motors from side to side, but i think removing drive motors on your machine is not as easy, i think the motor has a sprocket on the nose inside teh chain case, so you need to remove it that way, unlike the newer ones, you just remove a few bolts and hoses and it slides right off.
Never worked on one, but hopefully another member can advise how to get it out easily.
I claim zero expertise. That said, my guess is that this is a clutch drive machine.
Being that age i hought it was clutch driven too, but he mentioned motors, i assumed he knew if it had a motor or not.
If it's clutch driven, hopefully it's as easy as an adjustment.
Thanks for the replies, I honestly wouldn't know if it's motor or clutch driven, I'm very new to this, how do you find that out? Thanks in advance for the replies veryone!
I would think if it is like a model 500 it has large covers behind the tires with 2 large looking nuts it is a clutch machine.
flyerdan
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- Mar 7, 2009
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Info on this machine is sketchy, The Bobcat Parts site doesn't recognize it, and all searches result from Europe or far east.
Here's a site that has some pics; it appears to have a transverse mounted 2 cylinder Kubota, and the steer stick arrangement seems to indicate that it has a tandem pump rather than clutch drives.
Looks like it could be a nice little machine, but you'd better have a machine shop and a strong intrinsic knowledge of mechanical theory as it's a bit of a unicorn and parts and help appear scarce.
For drive issues, I'd make sure that the linkages were correct, (ie, both forward commands are moving the related controls the same amount), and if the linkage is correct, get all the wheels off the ground and let it run unencumbered so new oil can circulate through the system. That might free up things that have taken a set or gummed up over the years of inactivity.
